A Week in the Life of a Stressed Demigod
by Banana Smoothie
Summary: Kory was never normal. Especially not after she figures out exactly who her mysterious father is. Not that she ever really cared. As of late, she's a little too usy fighting to keep her internal organ inside her to worry about much else.
1. I Hit a Bull Man with a Stick

**I Hit a Bull-man with a stick**

So, pretty much, the beginning of the end of the world I previously lived in started like this.

I saw my mom, Elaine Simmons, in a big long, oversized t-shirt that had the name of some old collage on it. I couldn't really read it. Her chestnut hair was a lot longer than it usually was, and it was tied back into ponytail at the base of her neck. The lines I had come to realize came with age had smoothed a bit, like she was a decade younger. Then I realized why she wore the oversized shirt. Her stomach was bulging. Maybe she was twelve years younger.

Then I noticed the person she was talking to. The _man_ she was talking to. He looked kind of familiar. He was really tall, taller than average, with a short black bear and a full head of hair, which is more than I can say about the last guy I saw mom with. He wore Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt and sandals. He had sea foam green eyes with little crinkles at the sides, so I knew he smiled a lot. But they weren't smiling then. They were determined, like my moms own deep brown ones. Uh oh. Not good.

"Just listen to me for a minute," the man insisted. My mom sighed.

"Okay, fine. I'll hear you out."

The man walked over to her. "Come and live with m. We'll be safe there, in my home. All of us," he pointed at my mom's rounded stomach as she rubbed a gentle hand over it. At me, supposedly. You know, if any of this junk was real. Which it wasn't...

"She's safe here," cried my mom.

"She?" he asked. "I thought you weren't going to know."

"I can feel it," said my mother firmly. "And don't change the subject. You contacted that camp of yours when you found out. She can go there when she is ready, but that's my final offer." Mom walked over to the couch and plopped down. Actually, It was more a waddle, that's how big she was. Man, I must have been a really chubby baby.

"She won't be safe anywhere. Her kind never is. Especially mine," he insisted once again. But my mom had a will of fire, and she was as hard to move as a mountain, and if you've never tried to move a mountain, it's pretty hard. "I guess this conversation isn't going anywhere is it?"

Mom's brown eyes sparkled. "Not an inch." She kissed his cheek fondly.

Then the scene melted into darkness.

I woke up. My head felt groggy, and as I rubbed them I groaned. I was hot, and my sheets were bunched up at the bottom of my bed. Not that the dream was scary. It just gave me this feeling, like something big was coming. Something so monumental it would every day up until then look like a marshmallow.

I glanced at the clock on the opposite side of the room. It read such an ungodly hour that I collapsed. A cup of water from my bed stand had fallen off onto the ground. Guess I had been flailing. I sighed and got awake to pick it from the floor, my stiff limbs protesting. Then I glimpsed the mirror.

I was kind of pretty, or so I had been told. I looked nothing like my mother though. I was pretty tall for my age, but not lanky, and thin. A bunch of people asked me if I was a dancer or something. Just to clear that up, no, I'm not. I had wavy black hair to my shoulders and blunt bangs, but most of it was tied up in a ponytail as I slept, with little bits jutting out all over, not that it ever laid down like I wanted it to. My sea foam green eyes were dull with sleepiness. Oh boy. I had wondered why he looked familiar. I saw him in the mirror every morning. That would explain it.

I had freaky dreams all the time. Way more than normal people, you know. People who aren't mental. Usually they were like other people's lives. I always felt bad. It was like I was intruding on their privacy. But it wasn't all bad. There was that one time I had saved Will Troop from Chris Matthews.

Will is this scrawny little kid with curly red hair and really green eyes. He walks with this kind of limp and he eats like a pig. Chris Matthews looks like one. He likes to pick on kids smaller than him, like Will. So I beat him up...just a little bit. I'm thin, but I am really strong. Seriously, I always win in arm wrestling.

Oh, and speaking of school, I go to this lame mental case one. It's called Saint Phillips, and it's about as saint-like as a turd. Or maybe even less than turd, but I can't think of anything worse that I could say without my mom washing my mouth out with soap.

Oh, and just so you know, I have dyslexia. And ADHD. Not just one disability, but two. Guess I had to be so messed I didn't even fit in at Saint Phillips "school for the hopeless and inept". They should put that on a greeting card. It sure made me feel better.

Anyway, it's not like I pondered whether I looked like some dude from a random dream and what the impact it would have on my life. I'm not that gullible. I had to put up with guys tomorrow. Real ones. Oh joy.

So I guess that's when things really took a twist to the odd side. Or you could consider my birth the beginning. But we are definitely _not _going to go there. Sore territory. Been there done that. Let's move on people.

Anyway, so here's a little bit about me and my personal preferences. My full name is Koralie Embry Simmons. Just Kory for short thought, because let's face it; Koralie is a bit of a mouthful. And, at the moment, I am not very fond of the education system.

All of the teachers are old and crusty, or middle aged women with fake blonde hair that they think makes them "hip" which is just one of the words in their "slang dictionary" that need sorely to be updated. The school food is as healthy as pure grease and the hand me down textbooks smell like feet.

Oh, and just for future reference, I get into a lot of trouble. Way more than normal kids could handle. I mean, seriously, how was I supposed to make the water fountains explode, all over the school? Or make used toilet water splash into to Jasmine Murray's face when she tried to make a couple of sixth graders drink it, which, by the way, is the grossest thing I have ever seen? And don't even get me started on field trips. Stalker dudes with less than two eyes, gigantic lions outside on a train that only I can see, and a teacher that I was sure, and no I'm not exaggerating, breathed blue fire.

So, almost thirteen years and seven schools later, saint Phillips is where I ended up in. Oh well, I would get expelled by the end of the year, I always did.

"Kory!" shouted my mom up the steps a few hours later. "School's in half an hour."

I felt like I had slept on a board. Turns out I had completely buckled onto the floor and fell asleep in the layer of clutter that covered the carpet of my bedroom so utterly not one speck of it was visible. I couldn't even tell you what color it was; I hadn't seen it for years.

"Kory, get up!"

"I'm up, I'm up..."

"Bacon and eggs?"

"Yes please."

I leaped out of the little nest I had made on the floor and got dressed quickly, jeans and flip-flops. I pulled on my _New York Police Department_ t-shirt to finish the ensemble and let my hair out of its nightly ponytail. I shook it out as I ran down the stairs.

"Hey mom," I called when I reached the bottom.

My mom looked pretty much the same as she did from my dream the night before, only her face had more lines, but I never really thought of her as old. She looked wiser, I guess. She was stooped over the stove, jiggling a pan with scrambled eggs in it to make sure it was done. When she was certain she dipped out the contents and two strips of bacon onto a plate and slapped it on the table in front of me. "Good luck."

I gobbled up the food in front of me. I was famished, which was a vocabulary word, just so you know. Anyway, I pretty much inhaled it down and tried to swallow, only taking a pause to drink some orange juice when I couldn't to help it down. "Thanks," I panted, catching my breath. I picked up the bad that sat next to the doorway. I was kind of pathetic, because, since I never study, it had no books in it and slouched against the wall, like it couldn't believe I was dragging all the way to that horrible school _again._

The sky was clear and bright and blue and perfect. I wish I could say the same thing for my mood. Saint Phillips loomed over the sidewalk, this huge brick building blocking all of the sunlight from the front lawn. Even the flowers in the beds b y the front door looked all sad and droopy.

"Hey, are you coming or what?" cried Will from the front door, waving his little hand wildly at me on the other side.

"Hold up!" I cried back, sprinting off to meet him. Chris Matthews blocked my way.

"Hey Kory," he said with a sly grin. "Want t o make out?"

"I think you should get over it," Stupid Chris. Last quarter I was forced to play spin the bottle at a party held in the gym. And guess whom it just happened to land on? Honestly, worst night of my life.

And then he started laughing, _laughing_. I'm normally not a very temperamental person, but a few people just get on my nerves just by breathing. It's not a long list, but Chris Matthews s definitely at the top. Anyway, I was the better person and kept on going, but I was so mad I couldn't see wear I was going and Chris's foot just happened to be in my line of fire. I ran over to Will and left his howling behind me.

So, the first half of the day went pretty well, in my case. I only got yelled at once and was merely involved in one shout out match with a snobby cheerleader and Jasmine Murray. All in all, I was doing way better then usual. If they gave out those little golden stars at Saint Phillips, I would have gotten one for sure.

But after lunch, in fourth period math, thing took another turn for the worse. And I don't mean a pop quiz, even though they are almost as bad.

"Mr. Monroe?" called the speaker just above my math teacher's desk. "Would you mind sending Koralie Simmons to the principal's office?"

"She's on her way."

I scooted my chair out from my desk, trying to make as much noise as possible.

"Test next Tuesday, Mrs. Simmons," called Mr. Monroe. "You should study. It's a doozy."

"Will do."

Will was sitting in his little corner by the door, so that if he needed to go to the bathroom on short notice he could just bolt. He was cowering more than usual. "What did you do?" he whimpered.

I shrugged. "No clue."

"Oh no," he groaned.

I made a face. "I get into trouble all the time. I thought you were used to it," I retorted.

He gulped. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down. Poor little boy.

"Mr. Monroe, can I go to the bathroom, please?" he asked suddenly as I was about to walk out the room.

"Hmm?" Mr. Monroe barely looked up from his mound of papers. "Oh, of course Mr. Troop."

He skirted the other desks on his was out the door and passed me like he was in a racecar. I stared after him. He was utterly terrified by Mr. Popp. Plenty of braver souls cowered in her presence. Even I almost flinched when she looked at me in the hallway. Almost. But hey, I'm tough.

"Are you coming?" he asked when I stopped moving to contemplate his motives. The way he said was a little shaky, like he was trying to sound brave instead of absolutely petrified.

"Maybe we should just skip," I joked when I finally aught up with him. He gave me a glare, like how-can-you-be-making-jokes-when-we-are-walking-to-our-deaths?

Looking back on all of the crap that happened after that, I really wished I had just ran out of the front doors when we passed them and skipped anyway. Because, as Mr. Monroe would say, the next week of my life would be a doozy.

*****

Okay, so a word about my theory. Our principal needs some help. Mrs. Popp is this crazy woman sent from the deepest, darkest, slimiest trenches of the sea. I am absolutely sure that when she was born she had gills. Stupid evolution. Anyway, she ha way more hair than normal people, and not just on her head, and these crazy eyes s dark they are almost black. Haha, what do you know? Just like her tiny little prune of a heart. But enough about her.

The real reason that this experience was so freaky was what she had hidden in hr closet, and it was way worse than any skeletons.

"Mrs. Kidd?" Will asked when we reached the front desk. Mrs. Kidd was this smiley blonde (natural, mind you) who was really nice to everyone. "Can we just go in?"

"Oh, yes. Of course dear. Go ahead."

"Thank-you," he responded, equally smiley. Will has had this huge crush on her since I had known him.

I pushed on the ancient oak doors with nothing but a mall smile to the secretary. I had this horrible feeling, like I had had this morning only ten times stronger and mixed in was fear. The rusty hinges squeaked like one of those old cheesy horror movies. You know, the ones where the entire audience starts screaming "don't open the door!" Yeah, well, cue the screaming.

"Mrs. Popp?" I whispered I have no idea why; I jut felt so freaked out in that room. The eeriness the resonated from every little nook and cranny was palpable (another vocabulary word). Honestly, it felt like death was looming. There is no way other than that to describe it accurately. That made for a cheery atmosphere, as I'm sure you can imagine.

"Hello?" Will squeaked.

The door behind us shut by itself, and she gave a little girlish scream and dove under a chair. I, however, had a drop of common sense left. If I had had anymore I would have taken the hint and bolted, but, ala, a drop was all I had to work with.

The room was dull, and a thick layer of dust lay over everything, like no one had even walked in for a decade. Then I noticed these giant foot prints the size of a ham. Who had been in there, Shaquille O'Neal?

The doorknob of her closet jiggled and opened. Man, I wish I could say it was a famous basketball player.

"ROAR!" grunted this giant _thing._

Will, yet again, yelped and tried to squeeze as much f him self as possible under the little metal chair. His pants dipped down to reveal some kind of shaggy underwear.

"Roar!" the thing cried again. It was a lot like a bull, furry all over, with two black and white horns jutting out of either side of his head right above his tiny little ears. Then, a little further down, a pair of yellowing _Fruit of the Loom_ underpants covered his furry hindquarters, and it walked like a man, on two legs.

Okay, so that one little drop of common sense had apparently been all used up and disappeared, so I just kind have stood there looking at this giant bull-thing. The only sensible thought I can remember thinking is, "whoa boy. Some one needs some spray deodorant." Then, of course, while I was trying to decide exactly was stench was intruding in my nose (was it gym socks of rotten cheese, or a mixture...?) it lunged for my face. I managed to stop, drop, and roll like I was on fire just in time to avoid having his giant meaty hand enclose around my windpipe, completely falling over Will in the process.

But instead of grabbing my neck, thus suffocating me to death, he tripped over me on the floor and went catapulting into the brick wall behind me. The boom that followed was so loud I think it caused a tidal wave in California. So, sorry all of you California people. My bad.

So, this bull dude completely demolished the wall, the only boundary between the sidewalk and Mrs. Popp's gloomy office, and was suddenly hit by an onslaught of falling bricks. "Yarghhhh!" he cried until a particularly well-placed brick hit him in the face and muffled his voice. Of course no one paid attention to the monster embedded in the fallen wall. Their eyes went straight to two scrawny kids (or Will was scrawny at least) I'm sure could have had the strength to destroy it. Because all of the cool kids get bored in class and decide to blow up random walls. Oh well.

"Will?" I asked shakily.

Will stood up from his hiding spot, the leg of his chair in his hand like a club. When he noticed the wall and the pedestrians eyeing us, he lowered it. "I suggest we leave."

I nodded. "Good idea, genius. I would be absolutely lost with out you, I'm sure."

I grabbed his hand and jumped out of the giant whole our epic battle had made. When we ran past Mr. bull, I waved and smiled while he raise his giant hand/clubs in another effort to kill me. "Not today, bud."

I was all for running straight to my mom's house for milk and cookies, but Will apparently had other plans he didn't bother to share with me. "Taxi!" he called when we made it to one of the less crowded streets.

"Are you insane?" I hissed in his ear.

"You better hope not, or else we are in deep doo-doo," he said a big yellow car pulled up in front of us.

"Wow," I said sarcastically. "You're eloquence astounds me."

"Good word," he commented with a grin. Now I gave him the famous how-can-you-be-making-jokes-when-we-are-walking-to-our-deaths glare. Then he began belting out instruction to the taxi driver. "And step on it. We're uh...late."

"For what?" he asked, starting to go.

"Um...a very important date?" Will tried. My little Einstein. Quick on his feet, isn't he?

"Rawr!" Mr. Taxi man just kept on puffing along on the asphalt. Even the people on the sidewalk didn't even notice it. Some even waved and smiled like it was a completely ordinary thing to see a bull on two legs with tidy whities on the middle of the road.

"Can't they see it?" I asked.

The bull roared again.

"What do you think?"

*****

Will, or course, didn't feel the need to clue me in. So basically, I had no idea where the heck we were going. Honestly, he could have been the last bit cooperative at my flurry of interrogation on the really long drive to where ever. But no, me and the taxi driver were in the same boat.

The entire way there I held onto the nasty taxi chairs like it was a freaking life preservers, and that's pretty hard. Seriously, I think the indention of my finger in engraved into the leather. My knuckles were white. I was sure very corner we turned there would be a giant walking bull with an accompanied roar just waiting to crush me.

"Here please."

I literally jumped up from my chair. I guess I had just been off in my own little world of terror. Oh well.

If I had any doubts that I needed to get Will a straight jacket for Christmas, I didn't then. He had taken us to this giant empty hill. The only thing of it was this huge tree, maybe a Pine or something, on the crest. Oh wait. There was something else. A dragon the size of a house comfortably wrapped around the base of it, snoring it's little heart out. Or maybe "little" isn't the right word. I don't think anything about that thing was little. But I guess normal people couldn't see that either, because the taxi driver just looked confused, not scared stiff. Oh boy. Will had a _lot_ of explaining to do.

"Are you sure?" asked the driver as he pulled to a stop. I was certain this guy thought we were as crazy as I did, and that's saying something, because he hadn't seen two monsters in the past, like, hour and a half.

"Yeah. Thanks," will said, digging out a wad of cash from his pants pocket. I stared at it. How long had that been there? Obviously, this guy was a true New Yorker, because he just took the money a left.

"Come on." Will was already headed up the hill.

"Okay..." I said slowly, getting out of the car one leg at a time. Did I really want to be any closer to that dragon then necessary? No, not really. At least my mind was totally gone.

And, right on time, a giant, thundering roars echoed from behind me.

"Oh perfect." And of course, there he was, in all of his odorous glory. Oh goodie. Now it was a party.

I stumbled a little farther up the hill, trying to put as much distance between us as possible. When I was a sufficient enough expanse away from the thing, I looked around me on the ground. I picked up the biggest stick I could, which, o course, is the ideal weapon to use against a charging bull man. Darn, that day sucked. Talk about a crappy Monday.

He charged at me again.

_Thwack!_ I hit him right in between the eyes on his furry head. _Thwack!_ I jumped out of the line of fire.

He snarled and clawed at me. I jumped away again, stick twirling around my head at ready, but I was just a tad bit too slow. I screamed. The force of his hit threw me at least ten feet away, or maybe more. But at the moment I was a little disoriented. I didn't really have time to take out my handy dandy measuring tape. All that registered was the pain. My abs were completely shredded under the sad remains of my t-shirt, which were turning a gaudy red even as I lay there. Ouchie.

I stood a quickly as I could, just in time to miss another hit from my dear friend Mr. Bull-dude.

"Run for the tree!" cried Will, a ways away. To the dragon? Was that really necessary? Was a sleeping dragon better than a charging monster of some other species? I sure hopped so.

But the bull thing had caught on. Besides, it's not like I was at my fastest with abdomen area shredded to bits. He roared as he ran after me and I pushed a little harder, which was almost more then I could handle. I just wasn't strong enough. I tripped and stumbled, managing to keep my balance. As I did so, I caught a glimpse of the monster behind, and he was a little too close for my individual preferences. Seriously, dude. Personal bubble officially popped.

He slammed into me a split second later and I gasped in pain. But he didn't just stop there. Of course not. He kept on going until my front side made contact the tree. Hard. I head my own ribs crack, which is the most sickening I have ever heard. I head someone screaming an earsplitting shriek, and it took me a minute to realize that it was me, my own vocal chords unable to top themselves from producing such a horrible sound.

"Kory!" Will screamed again.

Mr. Bull continued to advance upon me where I lay crumpled up on the ground, caught in a net of my own tangle legs and arms. My shoulder was searing with pain. A gruesome grin played on his already hideous face. He raised his gigantic furry head to the sky like he was about to let out a triumphant war cry, but the sound that came out was more like, "Raw—uhnn!" He yellow eyes became all glassy and rolled up in his head like the boys at school pretending to be zombies. He started to disintegrate into a pile of yellow dust, like, Wizard of Oz Wicked Witch disintegrate. Then it flew off in the wind in giant clumps like someone had turned on the giant power fan f the universe.

A boy stood behind the place where m nightmare for that last two hours, and probably a few weeks after that, had previously stood, the wind tugging at his messy hair. He wore an orange shirt that looked like it read "Mcap Lahf-lobod" but my dyslexia and the fact that I was barely conscious didn't really help my reading skills.

"That's the third time, buddy," he told the remains absently. In his hands he held a glowing bronze sword, which was caked with a fine residue of dust that still slung to the surface. He took out a pen can and touched it to the tip of the sword, which promptly shrunk into a cheap ballpoint pen like you can buy at the Dollar Tree.

I closed my eyes. This was _not _happening. I looked down at myself. My t-shirt had been shredded so much by claws that you couldn't have used it a scrap fabrics and soaked with blood, and my pants were ripped and torn and grungy, like I had been dragged through a dump. My wavy was mess, and it tangled around my head list a bids nest, a strand or two clung to my cut up face, sweat acting like glue. I had lost my flip-flops a long time ago.

The dragon turned one of its plate sized yellow cat eyes to peer at me. "It's okay, Peleus. At least, I think it is." The boy soothed. "Will?"

Will trotted over from where ever he had gone to, and yes. I said trotted. His shoes had fallen off, and where bare feet should had been, two hooves sat comfortably. What I had previously though was just shaggy underwear were actually furry goat legs. And I know this because Will had taken off his pants.

"Yes, Percy?" he asked politely.

"Is she safe?"

"Of course," insisted my goat boy. "She's one of us."

Then I gave up on consciousness. It was doing me any favors. I blacked out.


	2. I Have a Family Reunion

Those first few days at that Camp I was a little spacey. I slipped in and out of consciousness, like I just couldn't get a hold of it. The few times I was actually aware of my surrounding, I didn't see anything that made sense. I saw a girl with glowing hands brush my shredded stomach, the bloody cuts and gashes repairing themselves in an instant. I saw more kids like Will, with furry legs and little horns on their heads. I wondered if Will had horns. I saw the shadow of a horse through the glass of a window.

But mostly, I just slept and lay there as people I didn't know fed me pudding, only it tasted a little like buttered popcorn. You know, the really fattening kind that they sell in movie theaters.

I woke up with a major headache, and it was accompanied by a huge bump where my head had made contact with the tree, which was very, very solid, I might add. Plus, I felt like I had fallen off of a cliff and been pummeled by rocks. Or attacked by a bull thing with some serious issues. Take you're pick.

I tried to sit and instantly regretted it. "Ugh," I gasped in pain.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I looked around the room I was currently occupying. Sitting at this huge ping pong table was a girl about my age. She had flowing, reddish brown hair that was really long and straight, only it had spiral curls at the tips. She had a tan like me and glowing oak green eyes. For a moment I thought she was wearing contact lenses. No one's eyes were_ that_ green.

"You broke two ribs and dislocated you're shoulder, not to mention pushed yourself way past your personal limit," she explained. "We fixed your shoulder, but your ribs are still mending. And your energy is till pretty much sapped dry."

"We?" I asked, easing myself back down onto the couch with my head propped up on a pillow.

The girl nodded. "The Apollo cabin. Or, me and Jacen, more specifically."

"Apollo? Like, the sun guy?"

"Yes," she said, with a sly smile. "Like the sun guy."

I was in this huge room that was painted tope white, with a bunch of chairs and a ping pong table. Just then, a boy walked through the door.

He was older than me, probably 16 or 17, at the most, with messy black hair and sea green eyes. He looked like me, only older, and in boy form. Then I realized it was the same guy from the hill.

"She up?" he asked.

The girl I had been talking to nodded. "For now. Be careful. She is still weak."

Mr. Swordsman smiled. "Good job, Chloe." He looked around. "Where's Jacen?"

"Out on the basketball courts, where else?" Chloe answered with a roll of her eyes. "Do you want me to go and get him?"

"Naw." The boy walked over to the ping pong table next to her and sat down. "Annabeth is going to get him. They'll be here soon."

"Good. That boy is a slacker."

"Annabeth will take car of that."

"Without a doubt."

I just sort of stared at the walls while they had their conversation. That's why I was a little surprised when he started talking to me.

"Will said your name was Koralie."

"Huh?" I asked intelligently. Then my brain clicked. Hey, I had been out of it for a while. Give me a break. "Oh, yeah. Kory, actually. But where is he?"

"Talking to Grover," said the guy, like I knew who that was. "So are you okay?"

"Seriously?" I asked, looking at him in disbelief. Was he really that dense? "You know what? No, I'm not." I shifted a bit to get a better glare at him, even though my ribs protested. "So there I was, just minding my own business, and then I have to take the merciless trek down to my demon principal's office! And then Mr. Bull dude shows up and jumps out of her closet, trying to kill me! You know, like, _to death?_ Plus, he was wearing some gross Fruit of the Looms! No one wants to see those!_"_

"I always was more of a Hanes girl myself," said Chloe with a grin.

I glared at her. How dare she intrude upon my epic rant? People would write poems about it when I was dead, I was sure. "And then we just hop into a taxi with the bull thing in tow! And we drive to this big tree with a dragon on it! I get my ribs broken and you, Mr. Swordsman, chop him in half with your pen/sword!" I took a breath. "So no, I'm not okay. Would someone like to tell me what the _crap_ is going on?"

Just then Will walked in.

"And now Will is a donkey," I cried, throwing my hands up in frustration.

"Excuse me!" he cried indignantly.

"They're goats actually," said the boy. "They find the term 'donkey' offensive."

"Ugh!" I closed my eyes. "Just tell me that the monster is gone so I can go home."

Will shifted uncomfortably on his hooves. "That's the thing. This _is_ your home now."  
I looked out of the window. I saw a big camp, not another New York building. "No it ain't."

"You aren't who you think you are," said the boy. He sounded like he was talking to someone who didn't quite get it, but that he understood my predicament. That ticked me off.

"Yeah, well, thanks for that information. I caught that." I glared. "Normal people aren't attacked by bull things and have goats for friends! Or they do, and I just never got the memo."

"Half goat, actually," sniffed Will. "Incase you haven't noticed, my upper half is devoid of anything remotely goat-like."

"Around here, that's pretty normal," Chloe reassured.

"Great, more to look forward to."

Then two more people walked in. One was a girl, about 16 like the boy. She had curly blonde hair and intense gray eyes that were almost scary.

The second was a boy. He looked almost exactly like Chloe, with reddish brown hair and those bright green eyes. I guessed they wre twins.

"More of them," I groaned. Chloe patted my hand.

"Hey, Percy," said the girl.

The boy-Percy-smiled. "Annabeth, Jacen, this is Kory."

"She's ranting," informed Chloe with a small ironic smile.

"They all do," sighed Annabeth with a small shake of her head.

I made a face. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" asked Jacen, walking over to his sister.

"Talking like you know me. Yeah, you don't, and it's getting on my nerves." I messaged my left shoulder lightly.

"But we do," said Chloe softly.

"What?"

"We know your _type," _said Annabeth.

"My type," I asked doubtfully. She nodded. "And that would be?"

Percy sighed. "Probably moved around a lot. Only have one real parent. Not many friends, if any. Have trouble in school. Most likely ADHD and dyslexia too."

I stared at him. Who the heck was this stalker guy, anyway?

"It's the same with all of us," assured Jacen, collapsing onto the floor Indian style.

"Oh really?" I asked. "That's all?"

"Pretty much."

I cocked one of my dark eyebrows. "What about my mom, huh?" I started. "About how I just left? About my hobbies, sports I like. How much I hate rap?" I pointed a finger and Percy and Jacen. "It's those little detail that people like you tend to leave out. And if what you're saying is true, then you of all people should know not to label people."

Jacen looked at me with awe in his eyes. Then he looked like I had just made his day. "I like her."

"She certainly isn't boring," admitted Chloe. She moved to sit next to him on the floor.

"She seems prone to temper tantrums," said Percy. Will nodded in agreement.

"Thanks for the support," I muttered.

"She just woke up from a Minotaur attack," injected Annabeth. "Cut her some slack."

"Minotaur?" I asked.

Percy smiled crookedly. "Mr. Bull-dude."

"But why is Will half goat?" I insisted. Then someone else came in. "And why is he half horse?"

"Centaur is the technical term," commented Annabeth. I glared.

It was true. Standing in front of me was a _huge_ white Stallion, with a coat that gleamed like pearls. My Aunt Erma raised horses, and she would have started drooling at the sight of him. Although, to be fair, she started drooling when she saw my mom's peach cobbler too.

But merged into where the horse's neck should have been, a guys waist had been expertly carved in its place. It was half man with graying brown hair and a fraying tweed jacket. He carried what looked like a bow and a quiver full of arrows.

"Half horse?" he asked with a smile.

"We haven't told her yet," explained Annabeth.

"Ah." He nodded. "Well, Mr. D. sent a message to, uh, hurry it up."

Chloe sighed heavily. "Of course he did."

"Will do," said Jacen.

"So he's a centaur?" I asked after he had left.

"Big time," nodded Jacen.

"Certainly isn't the weirdest thing that's happened."

"Get ready," Percy sighed. "Because this will be."

"Weirder than Will without his pants on?" I said smiling.

"Hey!"

Annabeth nodded. "Way weirder."

"Have you ever taken a Greek Mythology class?" asked Percy.

I raked my brain. "Yeah, once."

"It's not really mythology."

I stared at her blankly. "Say what?"

Chloe cut in. "All of the gods and the monsters? Yeah, totally real."

"How real?" I asked slowly.

"As real as I am."

"And you're sure you're real?"

"Last time I checked, yeah."

I looked at them all. "Okay," I said hesitantly. "Let's say I believe you, which I don't. Where, exactly, do I come into this?"

"Um…" said Percy. "You know, in the stories, how all of the gods went crazy and had love affairs with mortals? And how they had children?" I nodded. "Well, that's what you are. What we all are."

"Which god?" Crap. That sounded like I believed them.

"Jacen and Chloe are children of Apollo," said Annabeth. "I'm a daughter of Athena, and Percy is a son of Poseidon."

"And me?"

"Well," said Will. "We don't really know. But if I had to guess…"

"You won't have to."

I turned as much as my laying position permitted. Standing in the doorway was a pudgy little man with black hair wearing a tiger stripped track suit. "Old Uncle Poseidon claimed her in the last meeting."

"Hello, Mr. D," said Will, standing at attention in his little corner.

"Oh. Hello," he said in a tone that clearly said he wasn't interested. "Okay, so, all hail Karoline Simon, blah blah blah. You," he said, pointing at Will. "Move her into Cabin Three." Will scurried to accomplish his task. "Oh, and welcome to Camp Half-Blood," he said over his shoulder as he walked out.

"He's pleasant," I retorted.

"He's camp director, so I would watch it around him if I were you," said Chloe. "Daughter of Poseidon, huh? Percy's new half-sister."

"Oh, great," I muttered lethargically

"Annabeth will get your schedule and stuff," said Percy. "Sorry, but I have to go to the arena. It's my job to do sword stuff today."

"He's the best," said Jacen dreamily when he had walked out of the door.

"Yeah, yeah, sure."

Chloe looked at me with her eyes wide. "After everything you've seen, do you really think we're lying?"

I thought about what I had seen. I thought about the Minotaur following the taxi without even a second look from the passer-by. I thought of Will and his scruffy little goat legs. I thought of Percy chopping the monster in half with his sword and then turning into a pen. Gingerly, I fingered my tattered abdomen. "No," I said softly. "I believe you."

"Good," said Jacen, falling back into a laying position on the floor. Chloe let out a puff of air like she had been holding her breath. "Now you're an official demi-god."

I smiled. "All hail Koralie Simmons, daughter of Poseidon."


	3. I Learn the Art of Losing

**a/n: Okay. Sorry about the authors note as its own chapter on my other story. I'm new, so I didn't know it wasn't allowed. Oopsies...My bad...But don't worry. It won't happen again. Anyway, in case you haven't read it on "Into the Mist" I wont be here next week, so I wont be able to update over that time. Sorry! Oh, and read and review please!**

Right...so the camp schedule was pretty weird.

"You'll love it here," said Chloe, grabbing my hand. "Will is going to fix up your bunk and all that crap." She smiled warmly. Jacen hurriedly went into another rooms.

"What about my schedule?" I asked. When Jacen came back he had a bright blue cup the color of a robins egg.

"Drink up," he said, shoving it into my hands rather forcefully, even though none of it spilled. "Go on."

I took a sip. It looked like ice tea or something, but it didn't taste that way at all. It taste like my moms homemade chocolate fudge that she only made on Christmas, still hot and silky smooth. I licked my lips. "What is _that?_"

"Nectar," said Chloe. "Drink of the gods."

"It has healing properties for demi-gods. Although too much would kill us," continued Jacen. "Too much mortal blood."

"What if a mortal drinks it?"

"One drop would make their bodies disintegrate."

"Okay. Good to know." I touched my stomach. Pressure didn't hurt anymore. I sat up slowly on the couch I had been laying on. The ache in my left shoulder had disappeared. "That's strong stuff." Tentatively, I swung my legs over the side and stood up, rubbing my legs where they were stiff. "How long have I been out, anyway?"

Chloe counted on her fingers. "About---"

"Another child of Poseidon," interrupted Jacen appreciatively.

"Why? Is that good?"

"Half of the campers want to be kids of Poseidon because of Percy. Most of the undetermined kids, the kids who haven't been claimed, are wishing that's where they'll end up."

"That's the price of being a hero, I guess." Chloe picked up a ping pong paddle and twirled it back and forth between her hands. "Although there aren't very many. There was this huge prophecy about a child of the Big Three—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades that is—either saving or destroying Mount Olympus. They tried to avoid having mortal kids all together. Since you were born in that time period, technically you aren't supposed to be born, but Percy came and full-filled it. So you're safe."

"Good to know I'm not supposed to exist. Thanks," I muttered.

"Not to mention that kids of the Big Three are way more powerful then us regular kids," Jacen continued.

"I don't think any of us can be considered 'regular'," said Chloe.

I thought about what they said. "Well, this just spells disaster," I decided. I raised my arms and stretched.

"Don't worry, you're going to be a natural!" Chloe assured me. Yeah, right.

"Why don't you tell me that _after_ I get used as a punching bag, 'kay?"

*******

Surprisingly enough, the day went pretty well. Chloe and Jacen showed me camp. There was a volleyball court and a lake. An arena just like the gladiators used was the biggest thing, along with a race track for chariot races, a rock wall that spewed lava at you and clashed together if you didn't get the top quick enough, and a dinning pavilion with out a roof. Although my cabin, Cabin Three, was an absolute mess, if I do say so myself. That's what I get for having a brother I suppose.

"Why are some cabin overflowing and come are totally empty?" I asked, licking sticky fruit juice off of my fingers. We had just come back from the strawberry fields. Goat boys, or satyrs, as Jacen corrected me _after_ I had insulted a few, which he thought was hilarious, by the way, played pipes in the fields, magic flowing from the sound to the plants. One had let me try a few, and I finally understood how this camp could run on just the money those strawberries bring in alone. Man, those things were tasty.

"Oh, well, all of the kids live in the cabin that their parents represent, regardless of space. Some gods and goddesses have more...um...affairs than others," said Chloe. She pointed to a cluster of other smaller cabins further down the hill. "We just built a lot of cabins for the minor gods after the war, and we built Hades one over there," she pointed at a cabin made entirely out of black rock. "There are only two people living in that one."

"Hera is the goddess of marriage. It would be weird if she went around have kids with random mortals when she is married to Zeus," explained Jacen. Were all Apollo kids such know-it-alls? "Artemis has sworn to be a maiden forever, so none there. Zeus had one named Thalia, but she joined the Hunters. But, like we said, the Big Three haven't had any lately."

Chloe shook her head. "But the reason for that Is all gone now, so in 13 years I think we're going to get a mob of super powerful half-bloods."

I thought for a moment. "But if Hera and Artemis have sworn not to have kids, then why do they even have cabins?"

Chloe winced. "It's a respect thing. No cabin equals unhappy Olympian, and an unhappy Olympian lets you know they're unhappy."

"Ouch," I said, shuddering. "Bad idea."

"Jacen?" said a flirty voice. It belonged to a pretty blond girl wearing a pink shirt and khaki shorts.

"Hey Demi, this is Kory," he said.

She looked me over and smiled. "You're a cutie." I blushed. "Great to have you at camp. Demitra Cooper, daughter of Aphrodite." She held out a perfectly manicured hands and I shook it. "I'm the cabin counselor." She said. "Good luck." She winked flirtatiously at Jacen and ran off.

I laughed. "Bow Boy has an admirer!" I giggled.

Jacen got a little red. I couldn't tell if he was upset I was laughing at him or because he was embarrassed. "Shut up Fish Girl."

I laughed again. Then I looked over my shoulder and the Big House, the place I had been staying in before. I couldn't believe it was so big in there! A car pulled up right by the boundary. A girl with green eyes and fizzy red hair stepped out and smiled.

"Who is she?" I asked, pushing a piece of my black hair behind my ear.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," someone offered. It was a girl with long lack hair tied into a thick braid. Her eyes were almost black and really freaky. She was either crazy or a genius. Possibly both. "She's been the Oracle for a little over a year."

I knit my eyebrows. "Well, then shouldn't she already be here? You know, so she can Oracle stuff?"

"Her dad is rich. He makes her go to this gross finishing school," said Chloe. She made a face. "I don't know how she does it. Snooty people make me freak out. Seriously, how can she live with them and not strangle those girls?"

"Yeah, well when she gets angry she can't whip out a bow and arrow," said Jacen. I looked at him with a confused look. "She's mortal."

I puffed out my cheeks. "Okay, no more questions."

"Let's see how long _that_ lasts," said the girl. "I was wondering when they were going to stop anyway." She walked off.

I looked after her, my eyes narrowed. "I don't like her," I announced.

" That's Emily Lynn, daughter of Hades," said Chloe. "Don't let her get to you. She's _is _a child of Hades, after all. Their rude by nature."

"Why don't you say that to Nico?" challenged Jacen. "I'm sure he would love it."

"Fine," said Chloe, removing an arrow embedded in a near by tree twirling it expertly in her fingers like a drummer does with drumsticks. "I could beat his butt at archery."

"But with a sword?" I asked. Percy had said something about a sword practice in the arena. I wonder if they just handed out pen/swords to everyone.

"Please," said Chloe, rolling her eyes. "I'm not suicidal. The only one better at a sword than him is Percy, and Percy isn't nearly as temperamental."

"He really isn't that bad. He's actually kind of cool," defended Jacen.

"Anyway, I wouldn't worry about Emily Lynn," added Chloe.

"Yeah, a couple of lessons with your brother and you'll be able to whip her butt without breaking a sweat!" shouted Jacen, punching the air.

I smiled for a minute, but then I felt my spirits fall. "With what sword?" I asked sullenly.

"The Hephaestus kids will make you one, don't worry." Chloe looked over at the cabin with little smoke stacks. It looked like a little factory. "And until then, you can just use the practice swords."

"If I'm any good at all," I pointed out. "I bet I can barely pick one up, much less use one to beat anyone."

"With Percy as a blood relative? No way. Percy's the best," said Jacen. "Although technically he is everyone's blood relative..." he said slowly. "But still, Percy is the best."

"Down boy," said Chloe.

"Kory!" Will ran up to us and handed me a piece of paper. "This is your schedule. Annabeth drew it up for you. You have archery, the rock climbing, the sword practice, and then free time and after that is dinner. Capture the flag is tomorrow," he said, reading off the list out of memory, as I looked it over. "But you had better hurry over the archery place, it's almost time."

"Really?" I asked. I took my phone out of my back pocket and checked the time.

"Okay, that has to go," said Will, snatching it from my hands. "I'll take this to Chiron," he said.

"What? My cell phone?" I asked skeptically. "Is it a monster in disguise or something? Will it bite me?"

"No, not at all. But broadcasting your voice up for monsters everywhere? Not the best idea," explained Chloe as Will started trotting off down the hill.

"Okay, no cell phones. Point made," I said, nodding. I never used it much anyway. At least I wasn't one of those girls who couldn't live without their cell phones. Of course, then tended to have friends that they could text or something. Seeing as I never had any friends, I never used it.

"Now, hurry up," said Chloe, grabbing my hand and dragging me off to the archery range. "Our brother is having an issue with a pesky Naiad and we promised to fill in for him until he got rid of her."

"Besides, you'll need as much practice as you can get to be honest," said Jacen airily.

"Poseidon kid with a bow and arrow just spells disaster," Chloe giggled. "Percy's horrible. That boy can't aim for the life o him."

"So, like we said, hurry up!" shouted Jacen, running off down the hill we were on. "Poseidon, Dionysus, and Hades next hour and I don't want to keep Nico and Emily waiting."

As it turns out, Percy and I are practically on the same level at archery, which, is to say, we both suck.

"Sorry," I winced as Chiron de-snagged a stray arrow (one of many) from his tail. I sighed. "Oh boy."

Just then, a girl waked over to me. She was kind of short but really thin, with light brown hair in a braid that wrapped around her head like a crown messily. "Hold it like this," she said, moving my hands to the right places. "And you curve your arrow too much. Hold it steady until after you shot." She stepped back and waited for a moment. "Go on," she insisted. I shot.

I hit the second ring n the rim of the target. It's not like I got a bulls eye, but at least I had shot _somewhere_ close to where I was supposed to.

"I'm Kory," I said, holding up my hand.

She shook it. "Daughter of Poseidon," she nodded with recognition. "Your names been floating around camp ever since you fainted at Thalia's Pine three days ago."

Three days! "Oh..."

"Oh, and I'm Tora, by the way. Daughter of Dionysus."

"Say what?" the sweet little girl in front of me was a daughter of _that_ dude? Oh the irony. "I guess he calls _you_ by the right name," I muttered.

"I get that a lot," said Tora laughing. But then she stopped and blushed.

"Hey Tora," said Jacen. He was walking over with one of his brothers. I guessed that it was the one that was having trouble with the boy crazy naiad, because his shirt was kind of ripped around the hem and he had a big kiss mark on his cheek. "Ryan. This is Kory."

"Hay," I said happily.

"Hi..." Tora managed to peep. Her face was so red she would have fit right in at the strawberry fields.

"Nice to meet you," said Ryan. "Sorry I had to miss the lesson," he apologized politely. Then he smiled, only this time is was only for Tora. "Hey." Then he walked away to get ready for the next period.

Tora!" I thought she was going to die of embarrassment right there.

"Don't," she warned in her soft voice, which was funny, because she really couldn't sound threatening.

I walked over to Chloe. "I hit the target."

"I saw," she said smiling, like she was talking to a little kid who had just peed all by them self for the first time. I almost thought she was going to start singing, "I'm a big kid now," but thank goodness she didn't.

"You're already better then me," commented Percy. "Thanks Chloe, but I think I'll stick with Anaklusmos." He had just walked back from the arena from his last period, but he didn't look the lest bit tired after a day of work.

"Riptide..." I said softly. "Wait. Riptide, right?" I had no idea how I had recognized ancient Greek so easily.

"Don't worry. Your brain is hard wired for that language. It should come naturally to you," he assured.

"Again, it's the same with all of us," said Chloe. "Now scoot your little butt down to the arena for practice. Percy has to get going," said Chloe, gathering up her Bow and arrows again, all of which were clustered at the center of one of the targets.

"Yeah, let's go," said Emily's half-brother, Nico. He was kind of cute in a bad boy kind of way, but he wasn't really my type. He seemed okay though.

There were only two kids in the Hades cabin too, just like ours. Emily and Nico, who wasn't much older than I was, only about 14.

For the next class it was Poseidon cabin, Hades, and Hermes. Pretty much, it was Nico, Emily, me, and tons of mischievous kids and undetermined campers. I didn't think that was a very fair fight.

"Hey guys," said Percy when all of us had clustered onto the floor of the arena. "We are going to go pretty basic today, just to give you all a break. Oh, and Kory is new, so try to give her a break." Then everyone partnered up with best friend or siblings or something. Nico and Emily partnered up, not that Nico looked very happy about, and Emily was glaring gat me. Then she saw the only person left, and she had trouble holding in laughter. The only other person was Percy. Oh boy.

"Hey," he greeted me happily, uncapping his sword. Oh boy oh boyohboyohboyohboy. Crap. I was going to die. And yes, I am aware I was being a tad bit over dramatic. But hey, I'm a teenage girl. Being overdramatic is just what we do.

I gulped. Nico tossed me one of the practice sword me and Percy hadn't tried before class. We still hadn't found one that quite felt totally right in my hands.

"Thanks," I muttered.

He smiled a bit. "Hope you don't die," he answered. Ha! That coming from a child of Hades. I was being bombarded with ironic situations now wasn't I?

"Don't we all? I think everyone would miss me. I don't know how they lived without me," I said. "I've made quite the impression in this past day."

All of the other kids were trying to keep smiles from their faces, so they were either screwed up or completely devoid of any motion at all. Because that's not suspicious at all. I guess all of them had had their turn to be pummeled by Percy.

He taught us a complex rhythm of moves that we were told to follow. Some of the kids were whispering things like, "_This_ is supposed to be basic?" but I got the hang of it pretty quick. I was just memorizing stuff at that point. But later, one of the partners would be playing the offensive role and the other would have to play defense and block accordingly. That's the part I was worried about.

Then it started Percy was on offense first. He hit me twice so hard that it put jagged holes in my armor. "Ugh."

"Not bad," said Percy. I looked at him in disbelief. Did he not see the dent he had made? "Okay people, defense go to offense and vice versa!" Not good. Not good at all.

"Just do what I showed you," offered Percy, taking his starting position.

"That's easy for you to say. You're perfect." He grinned at me.

But I tried, I really did. Hard. Although it didn't take long to see who had the upper hand. All of my strikes were too low or too high or not strong enough. My sword felt like it was getting more and more off-balance as we went on. It was my first try and I had no experience. In my opinion, that was definitely _not_ a fair fight. But I certainly wasn't doing the worst. Emily was having trouble keeping up with Nico. A Hermes kid had given up on the pattern completely and was just slashing around wildly. I think he was more of a bow and arrow kind of guy.

I actually got a shot at Percy. His shirt ripped, because he wasn't wearing armor. For a minute I was afraid I was going to slice him in half. Being inexperienced didn't make the blade of my sword any duller. But then the edge of it just bounced off of his skin. "Wow."

I just stand there for a moment. The force of the hit had cause my weapon to go spiraling too the other side of the arena right into the middle of another group. But they were already looking at us anyway. "She made Percy fall," one of them whispered. Percy, indeed, happened to have been pushed back onto the ground.

"Holy crap..." I collapsed onto the ground beside him. "How did you do that?" I asked eagerly.

"Do what?" he asked, going over to the other side to get my sword. He handed it to me.

"The thing...with my sword," I stuttered. "It just bounced off!"

"Oh, that." He smiled and rubbed the back of his head like he was a little embarrassed. "I'm sort of invincible."

My mouth must have made a _very _large "o" at that moment. "And no decided to tell me this _before_ I tried taking you on?" I stood up again, even though my legs were still a little wobbly from thinking I was going to kill him.

"What fun would that be?" asked Emily. "Even if you did actually get a swipe at him."

Percy finger the large hole I had made in his shirt. "Hmmm..." He brushed off the back of his pants. "Suddenly I feel like I'm back at my first week of camp with Luke, only now I know how he felt."

"So I did good?" I asked, a little confused. I was a bit shaken and I wasn't sure if they were impressed or disgusted.

"Yes, very." Percy stepped back into the middle of the floor. "okay, everyone, great day. Oh, and don't forget," he said, looking over us all with a glint in his eyes. "Capture the flag is tomorrow."


	4. I Receive a Hurricane and a Poem

**a/n. I'll try to keep this short, because I am entirely way too long winded. Oh well. Just wanted to apologize for not updating in such a long time. So, sorry!**

"Kory!" shouted someone in my ear. I swatted with my hand to slap them. My hand made contact with something that felt like a stone pillar. Percy.

I shook my hand to try to make it stop tingling. Sword practice had taken way too much out of me that day, so my free time consisted wholly of sleeping.

"Time for dinner. Unless you want to go in your pajama's I suggest you get up and get changed. You already skipped ginner yesterday." Percy leaned on the post of my bottom bunk bed.

It was true. The night before I had gone to the shoreline. I was just so overwhelmed it seemed. The water helped a little. It was only when Chloe and Jacen had come looking for me that I realized I had missed a meal. I gobbled up tons of food at breakfast.

"Blah, blah, blah," I muttered getting up. I grabbed a pair of shorts and my orange Camp Half-blood t-shirt. I made Percy turn around while I changed. I didn't have time to re-make my little changing station.

The dining hall was huge! It was tall and made out of slender Greek columns. Everything around this place looked like stuff out of some documentary. It didn't have a roof. There was a long, jagged crack running along the floor tiles, but I didn't have the nerve to ask anyone about it. All I knew was that Nico had a temper.

Chloe had explained the rules of the tables that morning, when I asked her if she would sit with us. "All of the campers have to sit with their cabins."

I sat down beside Percy. Harpies brought out tons of amazing looking food. Personally, I think I almost started drooling. I stuffed my plate with as much food as I possible could. There is only so much space on those plates.

And just when I was about to start attacking my food with an amazing amount of force, everyone stood up. And then I remembered. The whole burnt offering to the gods and such. Darn. Not to mention with everyone standing up I felt really short.

I stood up a little too fast and tipped over my cup, which, fortunately, wasn't filled at the moment. I hid my blush of embarrassment in the curtains of my black hair, leaving just enough of a window for my eyes to look where I was going.

I sat back at my set feeling like I had already consumed my meal. Man, that smoke smelled awesome! I politely asked for an Ale 8. (**a/n-for you who don't know, it's a type of soft drink that they only have in Kentucky, a.k.a the best soda in the known universe**)

"I was waiting for you to suck the whole fire n," joked Percy when he got back to our table.

I crossed my arms. "Is that even possible?"

Percy shrugged in response.

Dinner was okay, I guess. Percy doesn't have any social problems, which is good. But is still, like, 17, so talking to a measly little almost 13 year old girl like me is practically breaking a rule in itself.

After we had all eaten to our little half-blood hearts content, Annabeth, the counselor of the Athena cabin, and some really mischievous looking twins named Connor and Travis from the Hermes cabin walked up to the front of room, each of them waving two "flags" that were as big as banners.

Athena had an alliance with Poseidon, Hades, Apollo, and Demeter, along with about a third of the lesser gods. Hermes had an alliance with everyone else, which left them with the Hephaestus and the Ares kids, and it was had to figure out which cabin scared me more. Although I think it was the Ares kids. Hephaestus didn't have a dead pig mounted on their door. That thing follows me everywhere.

Jacen, Annabeth, and Percy tried to get me into some armor that fit well, but I was too tall and too scrawny to fit into most of it comfortably. Chloe gave up all hope of finding a balanced sword and just gave me one.

"Let's go," said Jacen, clapping me on my newly armor back.

Annabeth, after a burst of strategic brilliance, I'm sure, stationed me away from any water whatsoever, somewhere in the woods on the boarder line. Thanks a lot Annabeth.

"Just stay here for now and keep people from getting over the line," Chloe instructed, straightening my armor and fixing the strap of her quiver.

"Hurry up!" shouted Jacen back at his sister.

"He takes this very seriously," she informed me with an eye roll. "Good luck," she whispered before trudging up the hill to join her twin.

And then I got bored.

Can you blame me? I was just standing there, sure I looked ridiculous, and wondering if I had put of about a million pounds of metal armor just so I could feel stupid.

But then I heard voices.

"Hey, Will, look!" shouted a guy. I couldn't see anyone, so it was really freaky, hearing a voice that had no face. Like a ghost. I shuddered.

"New girl has guard duty."

A silhouette stepped out from the shadows. It belonged to some kid I recognized from the Bia cabin, goddess of violence. I had a feeling they weren't there to invite me to a tea party.

"This should be fun," his friend continued. There was only two, thank the gods. If there were anymore then all of that barbeque might just force itself up and they would end up covered in dinner barf.

"Ha ha, very funny." I was trying to sound intimidating. It came out high pitched and squeaky, so I had a feeling I was failing miserably. The two boys fell into fits of laughter. That made me angry, a little. So I wasn't quite as focused on the fear, but what I did next was so stupid my own mother would have sent me to the crazy barn. "Why don't you come over here so I can stick my sword between your eyes?"

The boy that had spoken first cocked his head to the side. "Was that a challenge?"

"Suck it up, Devon." At least I _think_ that was his name.

He showed me the massive club he had in his meaty hand, and I felt sorry for the tree it used to be, because that thing was about as big as one. "Show me what you got." And then he swung.

I stepped back, only to trip over a branch and fall flat on my butt. He brought down his sword on my head, but I raised my shield. Too late, I remembered that I didn't have one. The giant club/tree made a huge crater in my armor and then the armor snapped into a jagged whole, the points of which embedded into my arm, which made it hurt whenever I moved it. At all. I screamed, but rolled away just in time to avoid another hit.

I stood quickly and got ready. Once we were both prepared for the attack, he wasn't really that good. He was big, so he had a lot of power and strength, but I was lighter and more flexible. I had a small edge; at least, I thought so.

And then his stupid sidekick came out of nowhere and thrust his spear-tip into my side, which hurt. Really, _really,_ bad.

I turned around and swiped at his arm, which he wasn't expecting, because the sword clattered out of his grip. I snapped it with my heel. By accident.

I attacked with renewed force, like the fact that I was bleeding heavily in two place gave me more energy.

A moment later, it seemed, and Devon's club fell on the ground. Which was sad, because he picked it up again. So I attacked him again and it fell. He bent to reach it again and I hit him on the back of the head with the hilt of my sword. Which, surprisingly, worked. Yay!

But I had lost a lot of blood, so I knew I had to find water to heal myself, or else...bad things. At least Percy said that water would fix me up in a tough spot. I hoped he was right.

I shuffled slowly to the near by creek, which was about the same width as a doorway. I stumbled into it and immediately I felt myself recuperate.

"Kory?" asked some one behind me. And then they rushed past me. All I saw was a flash of red/brown hair and the color of the red teams banner. It was Chloe, holding it above her head, and when they crossed in to our territory, the banner turned a stunning gold with an orange sun in the center.

Jacen eyed the crater in my armor as Chloe helped me get it off of my arm. "Looks like a certain fish girl I know beat up her first camper."

"Hardy har har," I muttered. "Bia kids are big."

Chloe looked at me with shock. "Well, of course! But, you seriously beat one up?"

"I knocked him out, does that count?"

Chloe and Jacen led me away from the hordes of blue team members cheering. As soon as I stepped out of the water I felt tired again, but at least I wasn't bleeding. I was pleased to note that my tennis shoes weren't wet. Must be a perk of being a child of Poseidon.

Tora, accompanied by Emily, (I don't know why _she_ was there) jogged over to us. "Good job," said Tora with a smile.

"It was only one," scowled Emily.

"Thanks..." I said sarcastically. "Actually it was two."

"Percy took on half of the Ares cabin when he first came here," she continued.

"Good for him, but I'm not Percy."

And then Tora did the most un-Tora thing ever. She glared, actually _glared_ at Emily. And let me be the first to tell you, it is was freakier if a nice person glares because then you know that you really messed up. I didn't even know she had that in her. I almost flinched myself, and she wasn't even glaring at me.

"And when, might I venture to ask, was the last time you took on a Bia kids, Miss Emily?" she asked, her voice just a little too sweet. "You've been trying to beat that Devon kid for, how long was it? About two years now? She's only been conscious for two days!"

`"So here's the deal," intervened Chloe. "I know _you_ can't help it," she said, pointing to Emily. "But, this has got to stop."

"Besides, I feel better now," I said with a smile.

Emily sneered. "You think you're better then the best?" I was vaguely afraid that she was going to call upon an army of the undead to throttle me right then and there, which would have been have a terrible waist, in my opinion.

"Of course not," I answered. "I do, however, think I'm better than you."

Emily's face turned a brilliant red. She looked like a tomato with a black braid. She drew out her sword, which was black and as cold at ice, the tip curving inward.

She didn't get the chance to acquaint the blade with my inner body organs, thankfully.

"Koralie..." called this really raspy voice, so ancient I felt my bones shudder.

I turned to see, and I instantly recognized the frizzy red hair as the girl I had seen the other day getting out of the limo. Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

I sighed in relief. There wasn't anything scary about this girl. She was mortal, last time I checked, which was yesterday. I could do without the creepy voice, though. Then I noticed her eyes. Instead of their usual green, they were glowing like lanterns. What had Emily said this girl was? The Oracle, right?

Oh crap.

She advance slowly from a cluster of trees, slumping and walking like she hadn't quite gotten used to walking with her feet. "_A quest upon the read they'll take," _she said with the ancient voice that sounded so weird on such a young person. "_A child of sea and horse and quake."_ She started to get closer.

I took a few steps back. Okay, a lot of steps.

"_Two will follow, they'll find, on the journey to endless time."_

I stepped back again, jumped when my back hit the bark of a tree, which was quite effectively blocking my escape route. Rachel grabbed my shoulders. I felt really short, because, quite simply, she easily as old as Percy, and thus toward over me. I pressed the side of my face into the tree behind me, trying to get as far away from her as possible.

_"They'll find who they seek with the help of the Sun, and release his hold on the Chosen One."_ She paused to take a deep, raspy breath. But a moment later, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and returned to their usual green. Then she collapsed and I barely caught her, struggling to hold up the weight of the 17-year-old.

Then she looked at me. "Um...hi?" She picked herself up and dusted herself off. Then, she must have seen the look of horror on my face. "I didn't start spewing out prophecies again, did I?" I nodded wordlessly, too stunned to speak. "Darn. Well, uh, welcome to camp."

Tora looked from me to Rachel. Then, as if to escape, she blurted, "I'll go get some strawberries," and then sprinted off.

I slid down the tree until my butt hit the ground, staring straight ahead as if I were seeing Rachel stumbled out of the trees all over again. The first words that came out of my mouth were pretty much the only ones in my vocabulary at the moment. "Holy crap!"

"Repeat what Rachel said to you, please," said Chiron. I had managed to put it off for about five days before he figured it out. Actually, I have a feeling he knew before and he was just playing along.

We all sat in the room I had woken up in that first day. Tora, Emily, Chloe, Jacen, Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel sat with us.

"You mean the poem?" I asked.

Emily blinked at me like I was an idiot. "You just called a prophecy a poem, didn't you?" she said, like she couldn't believe I was that stupid.

"Go play with your ghosts, Emily," snapped Chloe. "Even Nico has better manners than you."

"Shut up," I cried suddenly. I sighed. Propping my elbows on my knees and resting my forehead in the palms of my hands, I repeated the prophecy given to me word for word to the best of my ability.

"_A quest upon the road they'll take, _

_A child of sea and horse and quake._

_Two will follow, two they'll find,_

_On the journey to endless time._

_They'll find who they seek with the help of the sun,_

_And release his grip on the Chosen One."_

"Well that's good," started Chloe, looking on the bright side. "At least we won't fail."

"Wait," I said. "What do you mean 'we'?"

"You _are_ taking me with you, right?" she asked.

"Taking you _where?"_ I asked, looking at her like she was crazy. I knew the answer; I just didn't want to believe it.

"The quest, genius," replied Emily.

"Quest?" I started to feel queasy. "I never agreed to a quest."

Chiron sighed. "Maybe not, but the quest seemed to have agreed to you."

I grabbed the arms of my chair like I was back in the taxi getting chased by the Minotaur all over again. "Can't Percy go?"

"Are you scared?" Emily asked skeptically, sneering.

"That's it," I said, agreeing with her.

"You're a wimp."

I looked from her to Chiron. "Look, I'm 12," I informed him. "'Kay? I've been here for about a week. I have no sword, barely any experience, and no idea what the heck is going on. So basically, yeah, I'm a wimp."

"We can get you a sword," said Percy. "Experience is something you get as go. Besides, I was your age when I got my first quest, and I didn't have a clue."

"He didn't have a clue on any of the other ones he went on either," Annabeth informed with a grin.

"you have no idea what you're being given!" said Emily. "Before the war, there were only, like, 1 quest a decade. Now that all of the hype is winding down, that's most likely how it's going to be again. So if you can't handle it, get out of my way! Because in my opinion, I could do way better." By now, she had walked across the room just so she could glare at me face to face.

Oh well. I was taller than her anyway. And if there is one thing that gets on my nerves above al else it's people getting in my face. "I'd like to see you try," I muttered so only she could hear. I looked a Chiron. "How many people can I take?"

"Let's stick with groups of three."

"Excellent," I smiled at Chloe and Jacen. "You two coming?"

"Heck yeah!" shouted Jacen.

"Very well," said Chiron. "We'll see about that sword. Tomorrow, meet me at Thalia's Pine at noon, and then we'll send you off."

"But, where the crap are going to anyway?" Chiron, Percy, and Annabeth shared one of those annoying I-know-something-you-don't-and-I'm-not-telling looks. I hate it when people do that. As If I don't feel stupid enough.

"I always thought west was a good direction." Chiron turned to walk out of the door. "Good night."

"Thanks for your help," muttered Chloe. "Darn horse."

I couldn't sleep at all.

"Kory?" asked Percy. It was kind of weird sleeping in the same room as him. "Can't sleep?" He rubbed his eyes like he was trying to wake up.

"Nope."

He smiled sleepily and turned over in his bunk so that his back was to me. "I suggest the beach. But don't let the harpies get you. It's way past curfew."

I pulled my Spongebob pajama pants tighter around my waist so they would fall down the minute I stepped outside (hey, they were comfortable) and walked out barefoot.

Percy was right. The beach felt relaxing. It always had been, but now, after everything, relaxation felt amazing and rejuvenating and a little forbidden, just because you never really got to have time alone.

And then, when I had been there about five minutes, I got an unexpected visitor.

It was some dude dressed in a running suit, and he carried a big bag full of letters like a mailman. Why would anyone want to bring those when they ran?

I stood up in alarm. "I don't think your supposed to be here...sir." I didn't think that mortals were allowed inside the camp boarders, and I had never seen this guy at any of the meals or anything.

"Oh, of course."

"Really? Because you don't look like it."

"Nonsense," he said. "I have my own cabin! Of course I've never actually been in it..."

"So, what?" I asked doubtfully. "Are you trying to tell me you're one of the gods?"

"Allow me to introduce myself," he said, fixing the strap of his bag. "I am Hermes, god of thieves." He pulled something out of his bag. "And I have a package for you, from your father. He couldn't get it to you himself, because he has to rebuild his castle. It's a shame his game room was destroyed."

I took the thing he held out for me "My dad sent me chapstick?" I asked, twirling it between my index finger and my thumb. "Oh, wait," I said upon further inspection. "Cherry chapstick. My bad."

"Go on, open it," said Hermes. He had that smile I saw on hiss kids when a prank was about be put into motion, like even thinking about the outcome amused him.  
I held it out at arms length, just to be safe. It transformed into a really cool looking sword, about three feet long and thin. It was made out of the same celestial bronze as the rest of the weapons at camp, like Percy's sword, Annabeth's dagger, and Chloe's arrows, but it had a curving pattern of veins that were all different shades of blue and sea green. But I wasn't expecting a sword to pop out when I took the top of, so I dropped it with a yelp.

"You could have warned me!" I cried, picking it up. "I almost cut off my toe," I started. Then I remembered who I was talking to. "Oops, sorry." I wasn't sure if I should curtsy or something in apology.

"No problem," said Hermes. "As the god of thieves, I don't get much respect these days."

I blushed in embarrassment.

_Hermes, hurry up the chit chat!_ Said this rough, raspy male voice, only it was in my head. If I had started hearing voices, that was a problem.

_You have 427 missed phone calls, 250 faxes, 396 twitters, and 678 emails,_ said a female one. _Oops, make that 679 emails. Darn junk mail._

Hermes sighed. "Kory, met Gorge and Martha." He pulled out his cell phone, which had one of those antenna's that pull up so you could get a signal, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from squealing. Two snakes the size of worms were slithering up and down the antenna.

_You look like your brother,_ said Martha.

_He still owes me that rat,_ exclaimed Gorge.

"I'll pass on the message," I assured him.

_I like you more._

I smiled.

"By the way," said Hermes, stuffing the phone back into his pocket, with many complaints from the snakes. "It's name is Eknephias."

I ran my finger down the flat of my new sword. The veins glittered like fireflies in the moonlight. "Hurricane," I breathed.

"Use it well," said Hermes. "Oh, and good luck. Chrysaor has been a major problem as of late."

I gazed lovingly at my new weapon, and I didn't eve notice that Hermes had just given me a main piece in the jigsaw puzzle was my life at the moment, and my future. Stupid ADHD.


End file.
